Generally, an electrical connector includes a dielectric housing mounting at least one electrically conductive terminal therein. The terminal is electrically connected to another circuit component, such as a discrete wire. Connectors often are employed in mateable pairs such that each terminal and the housing of one connector are mateable with a corresponding terminal and the housing of another connector.
The terminals of electrical connectors frequently are very small components, such as components that are stamped and/or formed from thin sheet metal material. A poor quality electrical connection may occur if one or more terminals are not properly seated in its respective housing. The improper seating of a terminal in a housing may occur if the terminal is not fully inserted into the housing during the initial assembly of the connector or if the terminal is vibrated or pulled out of its fully seated condition during use of the connector. Failures of this type are a particular concern in the automotive industry where electrical components are subjected to vibration almost continuously during normal usage and are subjected to direct force during some maintenance. To avoid these problems, the automotive industry often requires connectors to be provided with some form of a terminal position assurance (TPA) system to detect incomplete insertion of the terminals. The automotive industry also generally requires locking means for locking the terminals in the housing, and a TPA system or device also performs this function.
In using a typical TPA device, if the device detects that one or more terminals are not fully seated, a search is required to locate the incompletely inserted terminal(s). This can be a time consuming operation and adds to the cost of the connector assembly operation. The present invention is directed to solving this problem by providing a TPA device which not only detects an incompletely inserted terminal, but the device, itself, is used to move the incompletely inserted terminal to its fully inserted position. The invention also is directed to improved features which allow the TPA device, along with the terminals, to be readily removed from the connector housing for service purposes, as well as a structure for reducing the overall size of the connector.